Bridge SAP ByDesign Connectivity with Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi supports powerful and scalable directed graphs of data routing, transformation, and system mediation logic. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for SAP ByDesign, NiFi can work with live SAP ByDesign data. This article describes how to connect to and query SAP ByDesign data from an Apache NiFi Flow.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SAP ByDesign data. When you issue complex SQL queries to SAP ByDesign, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP ByDesign and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying allows you to work with and analyze SAP ByDesign data using native data types.

Connecting to SAP ByDesign Data in Apache NiFi

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for SAP ByDesign installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.

2. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.sapbydesign.jar (and cdata.jdbc.sapbydesign.lic), to the Apache NiFi lib subfolder, for example, C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\lib.

   On Windows, the default location for the CData JDBC Driver is C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for SAP ByDesign.

3. Start Apache NiFi. For example:

   cd C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\bin
   run-nifi.bat
   

4. Navigate to the Apache NiFi UI in your web browser: typically http://localhost:8080/nifi
5. Click the (Configuration) button from the Operate sidebar.
6. In the NiFi Flow Configuration page, navigate to the Controller Services tab.
7. Click the button to create a new controller service.
8. In the Add Controller Service page, select DBCPConnection Pool, and then click Add.
9. Click the gear button to configure the new DBCPConnection Pool.

10. In the Configure Controller Service page, navigate to the Properties tab. Fill in the properties:

    Property	Value
    Database Connection URL	jdbc:sapbydesign:URL=https://my999999.sapbydesign.com;User=username;Password=password;CustomService=servicename;
    Database Driver Class Name	cdata.jdbc.sapbydesign.SAPByDesignDriver

    Built-in Connection String Designer

    For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the SAP ByDesign JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

    java -jar cdata.jdbc.sapbydesign.jar

    Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

    Set the following connection properties to connect to SAP ByDesign.

    • Url: Set this to the Url of your SAP ByDesign site. For example, https://test.sapbydesign.com
    • User: Set this to the username of your account.
    • Password: Set this to the password of your account.
    • CustomService or AnalyticsService: Only one of these must be specified. If you have a custom service you want to retrieve data from, specify CustomService. If you want to retrieve the reports of a analytical service, specify AnalyticsService.
      If neither is specified, 'cc_home_analytics.svc' will used as a default for the AnalyticsService property. If you are not sure what service to specify, you can always query the Services view to list available services.
11. Click the button to enable the new DBCPConnection Pool.

Your SAP ByDesign data is now available for use in Apache NiFi. For example, you can use the DBCPConnection Pool as the source for a QueryDatabaseTable processor.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for SAP ByDesign and start working with your live SAP ByDesign data in Apache NiFi. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.